DynamiX: The Second Generation of Glee
Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, I could shave my head and wear snazzy hats...and although I could totally pull that off, alas, Glee does not belong to me.
A/N: I'm on a writing high right now! So to celebrate, here's Chapter 7 of DynamiX!
Chapter 7 – We Are Family
At a local outdoor bistro, Tina Chang was enjoying lunch with Rachel Berry Hudson.
"…and now that we're finished with this play," said Rachel, continuing a story, "I'm free from all projects until the new year!"
"That's great, Rachel," Tina responded. "How long has it been since you've had such a long break?"
"Too long," the woman sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I love my career, but even I need a break every now and then…and it couldn't have come at such a perfect time! I've really been trying to reconnect with Stefania and Coleridge ever since they started being more honest with us."
"How's that going, by the way?" Tina asked curiously.
"Well, ever since Cole came out last month, he and Finn have actually grown a lot closer. Apparently, they've both loved that silly Call of Duty game for years and had no idea until last week! And they talk all of the time now. I've never seen Coleridge so happy."
"And Steph?"
"Well, I was a little worried when she decided to stay in the Vocal DynamiX even though she only chose to join because of me. But she's actually starting to like singing and dancing. She even comes to me for advice, and thanks to her, my musical tastes have expanded!"
"That's great," replied Tina. Her tone, however, sounded a little sad.
Catching on, Rachel took the subject off of her. "So what about you guys and Trey?"
"All he really focuses on is soccer now," the Asian woman replied. "And it's not that it's a problem that he has interests that he is actually interested in, but…that's literally all that he does. He never goes anywhere unless we make him. He's always in his room, and he never hangs out with anyone!"
Rachel was silent, seemingly in thought, as Tina continued. "I know that Trey and the others have been pretty strained ever since his fight with Cameron, but he doesn't even do anything social with his soccer teammates other than practices! I'm really worried about him, actually."
Tina's lunch companion smiled suddenly. "I think I've got the perfect solution to your family troubles, Tina!"
"So now the Chang family is coming with us on our Thanksgiving vacation." The twins had just finished the story to Anna Maria, Julia, and Cameron at the lunch table the next day. They would have filled their friends in during homeroom, but as Trey shared the class with them as well, they opted out of the gossip at the risk of his overhearing them.
"So what exactly will you be doing out in the middle of nowhere?" Anna Maria asked.
"It's not the middle of nowhere, A.M.," contested Steph. "It's this really nice four-bedroom cabin that our granddads bought a few years ago. It's got this amazing crystal blue lake nearby, and it's just a ten-minute walk away from this small town with all kinds of little shops. It's so rustic and quaint!"
The Latina turned to Julia. "Did your cousin take some of your happy pills this morning?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Steph asked, very offended.
"What's that supposed to mean?" countered Julia, looking at Steph.
"Steph, that description did have a bit of a Rachel Berry flair to it," argued Cameron.
The Hudson girl couldn't help but smile a little. "Guess she's starting to rub off on me."
"So things are better with you all?" asked Julia.
"Yeah," Cole answered. "Ever since I came out, we've all started talking to each other more and hanging out. Honestly, I don't think we've all been this happy for a while."
"Maybe that's why your parents want to invite the Changs along."
Cameron and the Hudsons scoffed at Anna Maria. They all knew that she had started talking to Trey again, and while they didn't get on her case about it, her friends weren't exactly thrilled either…especially when she tried to defend him.
"Hear her out you guys," Julia protested, tired of the fighting.
"Thanks, Hobbit." Anna Maria then returned to her point. "I overheard my mom Brittany talking to Mike at the studio the other day. Apparently, Trey's started acting pretty weird. Not talking to anybody, angry at the world. His parents want to help, but Trey won't let them. Your parents probably figure that they need this week to reconnect."
"After all," added Julia to her cousins, "it isn't like you were exactly honest with your parents all of the time. Aunt Rachel probably sees her own plight with you in Tina and Trey, and she wants to use the trip as a grand bonding experience! She is so wise!"
Anna Maria pointed to Julia positively. "Other than the 'Rachel's the queen bitch' part, that's basically my point."
"I know that Trey isn't your favorite person right now," the blonde resumed, "but could you both please swallow your pride for one week for the sake of a family in trouble?"
The twins looked at each other skeptically, then back at Julia.
"Dang, Jules. It's not like he's about to go out and kill people," Steph claimed.
"Yeah, what's with the dramatics?" added her brother.
Julia sighed. "Seriously! How long have you people known me?"
Cameron laughed and Julia gave him a playful glare that did not go unnoticed.
"I guess," spoke up Steph, bringing them all back to the topic, "we can be good for a week. You guys are right; and this could actually be good for everyone."
"But if you want to push Trey in the lake with an anchor tied to his leg, there'll be no complaints from this corner."
"Cameron Evans, you stop that!" Julia screamed at the boy angrily. "That is still your best friend," she said a little softer, "and you need to remember that!"
The biracial boy looked sheepishly back at her. "Okay," he softly replied.
Anna Maria made a sound with her mouth that sounded like a whip while flinging her arm to make the simulation. The twins laughed, while their cousin was utterly confused.
"What's that mean?"
"Don't worry about it," Cameron quickly replied while glaring at the smirking Latina.
At the end of the last day of school before the Thanksgiving holidays, Trey Chang found himself on his way to the Vocal DynamiX practice room of all places. He glanced at the note he was holding as he walked.
"MICHAEL CHANG, III, please report to the Vocal DynamiX rehearsal hall immediately following all of your classes. –Beth Corcoran, Vocal DynamiX Director."
The Asian was so busy looking at the letter that he didn't notice when he accidentally ran into someone.
"Hey watch it, dumbass!" the familiar low voice growled.
Trey slowly took his eyes off of the note, hoping that the person that he was about to see wasn't who he thought it would be. No such luck. The bulking, bumbling Hank Swanson—also known as Trey's rival on the soccer team—stood before the young sophomore with intimidation.
"Look Swanson," Trey said quickly, yet confidently, "I don't want any trouble…just didn't see where I was going."
"Well maybe if you opened your damn eyes a little more, Chung," the bully answered, once again purposely distorting Trey's last name. "Or can you even do that?"
Trey was honestly unsure if that comment was meant to be racist. But he decided to shrug it off as jealousy. After all, the only reason that Swanson didn't like Trey was because he was standing in the way of the bully's "deserved" position on the soccer team…right?
As the Asian brushed past his adversary, the large boy spoke loudly to his back. "Just go back to where you came from, man!"
He meant back to Vocal DynamiX instead of soccer…right?
"Ms. Corcoran, you wanted to see me?"
Beth looked up from her desk and saw the nervous looking boy at her door.
"Yes Cameron, please come in."
As Cameron slowly took a seat, he spoke quickly and nervously. "I-I know that I already did so, but I just wanted to apologize again—"
"Cameron, please—"
"My behavior was deplorable, unacceptable, distasteful, and, in no way, a proper reflection of the Vocal DynamiX—"
"Cameron," Beth interrupted once more, "you already apologized, remember? You stood before the group the Monday after the incident with that written letter?"
The boy nodded. "Yes, but I never apologized to you personally."
Cameron noted a difference in Beth's features. Gone was the nervous and timid woman he had met in August. Instead, a leader sat in front of him. While her polite charm was still prominent, it was joined by a strong will and determination that may or may not have been there all along. And honestly, the woman intimidated Cameron just a little bit.
Before Beth could give a response, there was a small knock on the door and Trey's head poked through.
"Ms. Corcoran?"
"Come on in, Trey."
He did so, and both boys focused their eyes on Beth Corcoran and only on Beth Corcoran.
"Well…I'll get right to the point as this is clearly awkward for everyone in the room."
Her attempt to break the tension apparently went unnoticed as no one laughed.
"In order to be eligible for competition," Beth continued, "a show choir must have a minimum of twelve members. When I suspended the two of you, that brought our number down to ten, and frankly, we need you both in the group. Therefore, your suspensions have been lifted. You've got a lot of catching up to do, so I want you to meet me first thing after the break to set up a schedule."
"Sure, Ms. C. Can I go?" Trey said almost immediately after Beth stopped talking. He was still a little shaken from his confrontation with Swanson and seemed so distracted that it left Cameron wondering if Trey had even acknowledged what the teacher said.
Beth frowned at his rudeness—or perhaps discomfort—and nodded; the Asian bolted out before anyone could even think to stop him.
"I figured that things would be awkward," Beth began, "but it seemed like there was something troubling him."
"There was," agreed Cameron. "I've known him since we were in diapers, and I know when something's off with him…" He trailed off, wanting to talk to his friend more than anything else. But that damn pride…
"I do hope that you two can work things out."
Cameron stood up, ready to change the subject. "Thanks again for letting me back on, Ms. C. I mean, I know you had to for competition purposes, but I still appreciate it."
"No problem, Cameron. Have a Happy Thanksgiving."
Sam Evans was on top of the world. He had a beautiful wife, two (for the most part) well-behaved children, and an exciting career as a science fiction movie screenwriter, his latest project being one of the sequels to his favorite series, Avatar. And his life had just gotten a little bit better.
That afternoon, the blond man ran into the kitchen frantically and found his son, his thirteen-year-old daughter Lucy, and their friends Julia and Anna Maria playing Monopoly.
"Oh, hey Dad," said Cameron.
"Hi Daddy," echoed Lucy.
"Good day, Uncle Sam," Julia greeted.
"Heh, heh. 'Uncle Sam.'"
Cameron groaned at the Latina. "Really? Every time?"
"It's funny! Don't have a cow, Trouty!"
While Cameron covered his mouth self-consciously, his father, surprisingly, seemed too distracted to care. "Cam, where's your mom?"
"Upstairs," he answered confusedly.
"Why didn't you get all twitchy and embarrassed when A.M. said 'Trouty,' Daddy?" his daughter asked.
"Because not even Satan's evil little minion can get me down today!" He turned to the stairs and shouted his wife's name while the others looked even more perplexed.
Mercedes made her way down the stairs to find her husband literally jumping up and down in glee.
"Sammy, what's going on?" she asked with a smile.
"Okay, okay, so check this out," he said at top speed. "So, remember how I did some of the Avatar movies with the AH-MAZING James Cameron?"
"Wait a minute!" Julia suddenly realized, turning to Sam's son. "Cameron James Evans?"
Anna Maria laughed. "Wow, obsessed much."
As Cameron frowned, Mercedes clarified for the blonde girl. "His dad's a big fan if you couldn't tell."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Sam continued to spit out excitedly. "Well, he's in town on a conference and he called me in to see him. And he was like, 'Sam, I want to bring Avatar to the small screen for a younger audience.' And then I was all, 'That's great, Mr. Cameron! Kids'll love that!' And then he was all, 'I know, and that's why I want you to be the frontrunner for the show!'"
"So, what does this mean, exactly?" asked Mercedes, admittedly having difficulty keeping up with her husband's jubilation.
"Avatar is gonna be the newest cartoon series for kids, and the James Cameron wants me to be the head of production!"
"Honey, that's great!" his wife screamed, hugging him.
"They're calling it Pandora, cause that's where the Na'vi live, you know? Of course you know; I've made you watch it literally hundreds of times! But it's gonna be really awesome, and since I always do those impressions, Mr. Cameron even wants me to voice one of the characters!"
"Dad, that's incredible!" Cameron stated at the same time that Lucy exclaimed, "Way to go, Daddy!"
Mercedes gave him a warm grin. "Sam, I am so proud of you."
Sam smirked back flirtatiously. "How proud are you, baby?"
The woman moved closer to him. "Oh, I'll show you, White Chocolate."
"Sexy Mama!"
"GUYS!"
Mr. and Mrs. Evans stopped their groping session long enough to pretend to look embarrassed.
"Seriously," Cameron continued, "if you guys don't stop trying to have sex in front of my friends, they won't want to come back!"
"It's okay," Anna Maria protested. "My Mami said that your dad's nipples are crooked; I've always kinda wanted to see if they're proportional to his mouth."
As Sam covered his chest with one hand and his mouth with the other, Mercedes soothed him. "I love your crooked nipples and your trouty mouth, baby. And I'll show you how much, too."
"Could you please not show him here?" their son begged, his head in his hands.
Mercedes put her hands on her hips. "Boy, this is my house. I can have sex in every room in this house if I wanted to."
"And we have, by the way."
All four kids immediately stepped away from the kitchen table.
Sam sighed dramatically. "Fine! Your mother and I will just go have sex somewhere else, GOD!"
The girls laughed as the Evans parents left. Cameron, meanwhile, went to get some disinfectant spray.
"Oh, I love coming over here, Cameron!" Julia exclaimed happily. "Your parents are the perfect example of how opposites attract: The Nerd and the Diva. It'd make an excellent play!"
Cameron, busy ridding the table of his parents' sexual remnants, paused to grin. "Sure, Jules…whatever you say."
"I'm serious!" she elaborated.
Lucy Evans and the Latina smirked at each other, mentally preparing themselves for Cameron's hypnosis caused by another one of the blonde's speeches.
"Love goes beyond all boundaries and devices. It brings people together and establishes a remarkably strong sense of communication and trust that is humanly inconceivable. Why, I believe that Dr. Seuss had a remarkable quote about love."
"…'I do not like green eggs and ham?'"
"No silly Anna Maria!" she replied with a laugh. "He said, and I quote, 'You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep, because reality is finally better than your dreams.'"
Cameron breathed softly at her, now finished with the table. "That's beautiful. You're pretty awesome, you know that?"
"'You're pretty awesome, you know that?'" both Anna Maria and Lucy mocked him before exploding into laughter.
Julia, meanwhile, went to a now blushing Cameron. "Thank you, Cameron. That is very sweet." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before excusing herself to the restroom."
Lucy turned to her favorite pseudo-cousin and asked, "Now?"
"Now."
The girl turned back to her brother. "Cam and Julia sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
"First comes love, then comes marriage. Then comes baby in a baby carriage!"
"Oh, will you shut up! Seriously, you're a thirteen-year-old guy. Grow up!"
"That's the pot calling the kettle black. Besides, it's not like Steph would ever date you anyway."
"And who said I wanted to date her, you little turd?"
Tina turned from the passenger seat to glare at her sons. "Both of you cut it out!"
Tyler Chang smiled deviously. "Hey Mom, why are we even going to this thing with the Hudsons? Everybody hates Trey's guts!"
"Tyler, didn't you want to finish that book before we got to the cabin?" Mike asked without taking his eyes off the road.
"Oh yeah!" And with that, the young boy devoted his attention to his copy of Great Expectations.
"Don't listen to your brother, son," Tina reassured her oldest. "This trip will be fun for all of us."
Trey rolled his eyes, more at the situation than at his own mother. "Sure…"
Tina Chang sighed as she turned back around. She took her phone out and sent a quick text.
"Rach, it's Tina."
"Can you check it for me? I've got to make sure I'm going the right way. And I'd rather not get into an accident that could be avoided by not texting while driving." Her mind flashed to her good friend, Quinn, excited for the chance to see her at Santana and Brittany's upcoming wedding.
"Okay." Finn Hudson grabbed his wife's phone from the empty cup holder and attempted to read their friend's message. "Okay, I'm not too good with text speak, but I think Tina's freaking out about Trey. Wonders if you're sure this will work."
Rachel smiled sympathetically. "Respond with 'Absolutely.' Oh, and make sure that you use the gold star from my Emoji keyboard."
The woman may as well have been speaking German. "What?"
"I got it, Dad," said Steph, snatching the phone away from her technologically illiterate father.
"Mom, are you sure about this?" Cole asked cautiously.
"Yes, Coleridge," Rachel assuredly responded. "The Changs need a refreshing vacation to rejuvenate their family. Maybe through this trip, they can get through to poor Trey."
"And," added Finn, "maybe you two can work things out with him."
"We're only doing this for Uncle Mike and Aunt Tina's sakes," Cole made clear.
"Yeah," his sister added. "Unless he apologizes first, we have nothing to say to him."
And for days, that was exactly how it went: Though the rest of the group enjoyed the cabin and its nearby activities, Trey was either secluded in his room or ignoring the others while sardonically reading various FML's and relating to them.
On the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving, however, he had somehow convinced himself to take a walk. And as the boy lazily strolled around the large lake, he began to think out loud about the past few days.
"So what if I don't want to talk to them? I don't need any friends. I'm perfectly fine on my own…besides, who's to say that they'd even accept my apology—but it's not like I want to apologize! I didn't do anything…well, nothing fatal anyway…plus, it's not like Cameron is any better than me, and the twins have no problem with him! But then again…I guess I didn't have to drag them into my thing with Cam…Tyler and Cam are right; I do need to grow up…they wouldn't forgive me, though…and it's not like I need them…it's not like they'd care…"
TREY:
We'll do it all…Everything…On our own.
We don't need…Anything…Or anyone.
If I lay here,
If I just lay here,
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
I don't quite know…How to say…How I feel.
Those two words…Are said too much…They're not enough.
If I lay here,
If I just lay here,
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old.
Show me a garden that's bursting into life.
Suddenly, there was a rustling from behind Trey. He jumped nervously to find Cole and Steph standing behind him, and by the looks on their faces, the short boy could tell that the twins had not only heard him singing, but they also heard every word that he said before the music in his head began. There was silence for a minute, and then Steph spoke with a smile.
"You realize that you just sang your feelings, right? That makes you a loser like us."
She and Cole laughed softly, and Trey put on a smile. He then dropped it and took a nervous breath.
"I'm sorry."
Finn, Mike and Tina were playing cards on the front porch of the cabin while Rachel had taken Tyler into the town to get a few last minute Thanksgiving dressings. The tall man looked out to the lake and noticed something.
"Hey, check that out!" Finn happily pointed to the lake at their children. "I think they're making up!"
Tina smiled. "Looks like Rachel was right. Maybe this trip was what we needed after all."
"You could argue that music tore them apart," Mike began, "but in the end, music brought them back together."
"Speaking of music," said Finn, "I heard through the grapevine that Trey and Cameron were back on Vocal DynamiX. That teacher must be pretty forgiving."
"I think she just needed twelve to compete," Tina clarified. "What's her name again?"
"The twins always call her Ms. C.," responded Finn.
Tina turned to Mike. "You work with her. It's Beth something, right?"
Mike paled.
"Dude, you alright?" Finn questioned.
"Okay, you two have to promise not to freak out," said Mike.
"About what?" Tina asked. "She's not a felon, is she?"
"No…she's Beth Corcoran."
There was a beat of silence, with the exception of Tina's gasp of realization.
"That's funny," Finn spoke up suddenly. "Rachel's birth mom's last name is Corcoran." He took a sip of his beer without giving it a second thought as the Changs looked at him in disbelief.
"Refill, Senator?"
"Yeah sure. And I'm gonna need more breadsticks. I gots to get my munch on."
"But Santana, we're in public."
"Oh God."
The waiter refilled Santana's iced tea before leaving with a face of suppressed arousal. Anna Maria, meanwhile, turned to her mothers as they sat at a small table in the large reception hall of the Capitol building.
"Mami, explain it to me one more time."
Santana sighed. "Fine. My political advisors thought that I should publicize some sort of engagement party and suggested that I do it on Thanksgiving Day while inviting all of the city's families for a cheap, yet delicious meal. Apparently, this way I can stir up support or some crap like that."
"But I thought you hated big showy things like this," her daughter protested.
"I only agreed to it because for every plate sold here, another free plate is given to a person in need at one of the local soup kitchens."
"Aww, you do have a heart! Looks like I owe Julia five bucks."
"Speaking of Baby Rachel," said Brittany, "when did she start dating Baby Trouty?"
The blonde pointed to the long punch table where, among others, Cameron and Julia stood laughing at…well, probably nothing too important by Anna Maria's standards.
"They're not dating," the girl replied, "but the general consensus is that they should. Their 'sweetness' is putting me into a diabetic shock. Seriously, they need to hurry it up; it's getting old fast."
The waiter returned with a basket of breadsticks. "Here you are, Senator," the young man said with a flirtatious grin. "And if you need anything else to munch on—"
"Are you hitting on my girl?" asked Brittany defensively.
"Yeah, you perv! These are my moms!"
Santana merely grinned. "Sorry, Junior. I'm a one-woman woman."
The waiter frowned embarrassedly and left, and Anna Maria took notice of Brittany's sudden interest in holding Santana's hands. Suddenly, she gasped and turned to Cameron and Julia with a mischievous look.
"What are you up to, kid?" asked Santana, catching on immediately.
"When the prepubescent waiter boy tried to hit on you, Mom got really defensive. All it took was a little push, and she was all over you! If those two," she forwarded to her friends, "just get a little push, then they can hurry up and date, and I won't have to watch them make googly-eyes anymore."
"So what? You're gonna hit on Cameron to make Julia jealous?"
Anna Maria literally spit out her breadstick and coughed for several seconds before responding. "GOD no!" she almost screamed.
"But wait…" pointed out Brittany. "I thought that you two dated befo—"
"Mom, that was such a long time ago that it is by no means worth mentioning."
"It was last year," Santana said, agreeing with her fiancée.
"It was for less than a week."
"Still happened."
The girl glared and then returned her eyes to the still flirting teens. "I'm not gonna hit on Trouty. When I said that they needed a push, I wasn't talking about from me…"
Santana groaned. "Just promise me that you won't do anything illegal. The more times I have to bail you out, the worse it looks on me!"
"Sorry, Mami. No promises."
The Latina girl stood up with a determined grin and stood up. Instead of walking over to Julia and Cameron, however, she strolled over to their parents, all of whom were seated at a nearby table.
"Kurtcedes, you got a minute?'
Mercedes and Kurt stopped their conversation to look at the girl.
"Sure, Satan's Spawn. What's up?" asked Kurt warmly.
"I'm gonna be straight with you. Your son," she pointed to Mercedes, "and your daughter," she pointed to Kurt, "have been flirting with each other since the year started, and they have no freaking idea."
"And as Cam's ex-girlfriend, you're jealous?" asked Sam, pausing his game of slap hands with Lucy.
"That never happened," she replied darkly.
"So what exactly are Kurt and Mercedes supposed to do about it?" Blaine questioned. "It's not like they're gonna interfere with—"
Mercedes and Kurt, who both had stopped listening after the word "flirting", suddenly squealed happily.
"Our kids are gonna date! This is so exciting!" Kurt exclaimed.
"I knew it was only a matter of time!" agreed Mercedes in equal excitement.
"Blaine!" Kurt turned to his husband. "Our grandchildren will be one-fourth black! I mean, seriously, how many people can say that?"
"I don't think you two should get any ideas here," Sam warned.
"Yeah," Blaine encouraged. "Maybe you two should just stay out of this. Let the kids handle it on their own."
"Shut up, white boy," Mercedes barked.
"Uncle Blaine," Anna Maria said with sickening sweetness, "true love is on the line. Are you really just gonna stand by and do nothing?"
"True love!" Mercedes and Kurt were practically jumping in their seats.
Sam pulled the Latina over to him and whispered out of his wife's earshot. "What's your angle, kid? Since when do you care about the well-being of others?"
"The 'will-they, won't-they' thing is getting kind of annoying. I'm just trying to speed up the inevitable," she replied plainly.
"Daddy, why can't they date?" asked Lucy, speaking for the first time.
"It's not that they shouldn't, sweetheart," he responded. "But it's not right for your mother and Uncle Kurt to interfere."
"Then someone had better stop them."
Sam, Lucy, and Anna Maria looked up to find Kurt and Mercedes nowhere to be found and Blaine looking very disheveled and roughed up. Even his usually gelled hair was coming loose.
"What the hell happened to you?" Sam asked.
"Our spouses decided to 'encourage' the kids," he responded. "I tried to stand in the way, and Mercedes literally picked me up and threw me off to the side."
Sam grinned. "Note to self: remind her to do that to me later."
"Daddy!"
"Sorry."
"What do you think's going on over there?"
Julia looked to where Cameron was pointing. Their parents—well, Mercedes and Kurt, at least—were squealing.
"Maybe your mother got another Grammy nomination?" suggested Julia.
Cam shook his head. "She hasn't done a song professionally in years, remember? She stepped out of the limelight to open the nightclub."
"That's right…well, whatever the reason, it looks like Anna Maria is responsible."
Cameron shrugged, and then Julia spoke again. "Can I ask a personal question?"
"Shoot."
"What…did you see in her?"
The boy took a sip of his drink, pretending he didn't hear her. "Excuse me?" he asked when done.
"You know what I mean," she protested. "When you two dated."
"That's didn't happen."
"Cameron!"
"Didn't happen."
"I'm serious!" Julia was now smiling.
He smiled back. "Nu-uh." The boy stuck his tongue out at her.
"Come on, Cam!" She put out her lip and whimpered, begging for his answer.
"You know I can't resist that…"
"Then tell me: what did you see in Anna Maria during the week of your romantic involvements?"
He thought for a minute before answering. "I don't know…she's a girl…I wanted a girlfriend…she was available, I guess…it just happened…and then, thankfully, it was over."
"So you didn't like her? She was just a girl, and it could have been anyone?"
"That's about right."
Julia bit her lip. They both knew what she wanted to ask. Cameron decided to save her dignity of actually asking the question.
"The reason I didn't date you was because…I never thought you'd be interested in me. It wasn't that I didn't like you or anything…" He started talking a little softer now. "You're just too good for me."
Julia had a confused frown for a second, and then it suddenly turned angry. "That's bull, Cameron!"
"Jules!" He had never heard the girl speak so harshly.
"Why are you so insecure about yourself? Either you think you're not good enough to date me, or you're worried about what others will think if you join glee. I mean, you're so insecure that you won't even apologize to your best friend for the world's stupidest fight! You know, Cam, you really need to just man up and grow a pair!"
Before Cameron could respond, his mother and Kurt appeared, as if out of nowhere. They immediately noticed the awkward atmosphere.
"Did we interrupt something?" Mercedes asked in a tone that was clear that she was hoping that there was something to interrupt.
"Actually, yeah, Mom. But I'll do it anyway." He walked over to Julia, who had turned away from him slightly. The boy took her hand and dramatically dropped to one knee.
"Oh God, is he proposing?" Kurt stage-whispered with a sudden sense of worry. "It's Finchel all over again!"
"Julia Hummel-Anderson…would you do me the honor…of allowing me to take you on a first date?"
"Cameron, what are you doing?" Julia asked. Her voice sounded annoyed, and yet the girl was beaming.
"I'm growing a pair."
And there's the Thanksgiving episode! I apologize; it's really not all that great. As usual, the writing took me to places that I didn't expect, and I wasn't too satisfied with where I went with this. But the next chapter will tie up some of the loose ends seen here. Review or PM your thoughts on what you found weird...or even good. Hopefully, I can rectify some issues in future chapters.
On another note, I've just finished writing Chapter 9, and I'm starting 10 right now. Let's just say that my story is starting to get just a little bit darker. In fact, be prepared for a few M-ish scenes in the future. I'll be as tame as possible, but just wanted to give you guys a heads up! Hope you've been enjoying the story so far, because I've been enjoying writing it. I was in a temporary writing slump, but now I'm back and better than ever! (at least...I hope so) Thanks for reading!
FEATURED SONG:
"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
In the Next Chapter: Trey and Cameron must finally deal with their own vices, along with a new mutual enemy who takes things too far. Meanwhile, the girls do some investigating after overhearing a conversation.